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SWPPP inspection form: the free template, what it must record, and how often
A SWPPP inspection report must be finished within 24 hours of the inspection and record the date, the inspector's name and title, what you found at every control and disturbed area, the rain or snow reading that triggered a storm inspection, and any area too unsafe to check. Under EPA's permit you inspect every 7 days, or every 14 days plus within 24 hours of 0.25 inches of rain.
Download free: EPA site inspection report (Word) · dewatering inspection report (Word) · corrective action log (Word)
How often you must inspect
| Situation | Minimum schedule | Permit part |
|---|---|---|
| Standard site | Every 7 calendar days, or every 14 days plus within 24 hours of 0.25 in of rain in 24 hours (or a snowmelt discharge from 3.25 in of snow) | 4.2 |
| Drains to a sediment- or nutrient-impaired water, or a Tier 2, 2.5 or 3 water | Every 7 days and within 24 hours of 0.25 in of rain | 4.3.1 |
| Dewatering discharge | Once each day the discharge occurs, with its own report | 4.3.2, 4.6.3 |
| Stabilized areas | Twice in the first month, no more than 14 days apart, then monthly | 4.4.1 |
| Arid or semi-arid area in its dry season, or drought | Monthly, plus within 24 hours of 0.25 in of rain | 4.4.2 |
| Frozen ground, work continuing | Monthly, if discharges are unlikely for 3 months and idle areas are stabilized | 4.4.3 |
The 24 hours run on the clock, not business hours; if they fall entirely outside working hours, the inspection is due by the end of the next business day. A rain gauge on site or a representative weather station both count, but the report has to name which one and the reading.
What the report must contain
Part 4.7.1 sets the minimum, and EPA's free Word template turns it into six sections. If you build your own form, keep every field:
- General information (Section A). Inspector, title and company; date, start and end time; weather; phase; which schedule applies; whether a storm triggered it, the rainfall total and its source; any area too unsafe to inspect, and why.
- Erosion and sediment controls (B). One row per control from your SWPPP: location, whether it needs routine maintenance, how many times that same fix has come up, whether it needs corrective action, and what you saw.
- Pollution prevention (C). The same rows for fueling areas, washout, waste, chemical storage and the like.
- Stabilization (D). Each area being stabilized, the method and deadline, and whether final stabilization is met and photographed.
- Discharges (E). If water is leaving the site, each discharge point and its color, odor, solids, foam or sheen, and any sign in the receiving water.
- Signature (F). The operator's signatory under Appendix G.11, with the certification statement.
Every area on this list has to be walked: disturbed areas not yet stabilized, all controls, storage and equipment areas, drainage paths, dewatering, discharge points and stabilized areas (Part 4.5). Reports stay on site or close at hand and are kept three years after coverage ends.
A filled-in row, for illustration
Control: Silt fence, east perimeter, station 2+00 to 4+50 (site map sheet 2).
Routine maintenance? Yes. Sediment is about half the fence's above-ground height between 3+00 and 3+40. Times seen: 1.
Corrective action? No. Observed: Fence intact, posts upright; no sediment past the fence. Crew to clean out by end of next business day.
Control: Stabilized construction exit, north gate.
Routine maintenance? Yes. Times seen: 3 (this is the third week the stone has clogged).
Corrective action? Yes, triggered by the repeat rule. Logged today; add a tire wash or extend the exit within 7 days and update the SWPPP.
The second row shows the rule most forms miss: the same routine fix at the same control and location three or more times must be handled as a corrective action, unless the inspection report explains why it should still count as routine maintenance (Parts 2.1.4c and 4.7.1c). Corrective actions go in their own log, entered within 24 hours of finding the problem and again within 24 hours of fixing it. Simple fixes are due by the close of the next business day; a new or replacement control within 7 calendar days (Part 5.2).
Where to get the form
| Option | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| EPA site inspection report template | Word file built on Part 4.7, plus separate dewatering and corrective action log templates | Free |
| Your state's form | Many states publish one; ComplianceGo keeps a free library of state forms | Free |
| Mitti (SafetyCulture) | Mobile inspection app with a SWPPP checklist, photos and reports | Free for up to 10 users; Premium $24 per seat a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly |
| ComplianceGo | Stormwater inspection app with weather data and state forms | 30-day free trial; pricing on request |
| ePlan | Drafts a site-specific inspection report form in Word from your site's answers; a corrective action log is a separate document | Free to read; $49 to download one document |
Which fits depends on who fills it in. For one small site, EPA's template customized once with your controls is enough. A superintendent inspecting several sites every week gets more from a field app that timestamps photos and fills in the rain data: Mitti and ComplianceGo are built for that, and ePlan isn't, because it drafts documents rather than running inspections in the field. ePlan's form is useful when you want the template already filled with your site's controls and receiving water.
EPA template (Word) · ComplianceGo state forms · Mitti pricing · ePlan's inspection report
Questions
How often do SWPPP inspections occur?
Under EPA's permit, at least every 7 calendar days, or every 14 days plus within 24 hours of a 0.25-inch rain. Sites draining to impaired or high-quality waters do both. Stabilized areas drop to monthly after a month. State permits differ, so check yours.
Who can do a SWPPP inspection?
Anyone on your staff or a hired inspector, as long as they are a qualified person: under EPA's permit that means passing EPA's free construction inspection course and exam, or holding a current certification that covers the topics in Part 6.3.
How long do I keep inspection reports?
At least three years from the date your permit coverage ends, at the site or somewhere you can produce them immediately during an inspection (Part 4.7.3 and 4.7.4).
Related guides
- SWPPP template: which one your permit wants, and how to fill it in
- SWPPP requirements: the checklist your permit holds you to
- Who can write a SWPPP? QSDs, preparers and inspectors by state
About this page
This guide is published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes ePlan, one of the ways to get a SWPPP drafted that this site compares. We make money when someone pays ePlan to download a document or subscribes; we earn nothing from links to agencies or other products, and links to ePlan carry a tag so ePlan can count visits from here. Every fact on this page was read from the source it links to on the date shown above.